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2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
High temperature fission chambers engineered for AMR/SMR safety and performance
As the global energy landscape shifts towards safer, smaller, and more flexible nuclear power, Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Gen. IV* technologies are at the forefront of innovation. These advanced designs pose new challenges in size, efficiency, and operating environment that traditional instrumentation and control solutions aren’t always designed to handle.
B. A. Pint
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 52 | Number 4 | November 2007 | Pages 829-833
Technical Paper | First Wall, Blanket, and Shield | doi.org/10.13182/FST07-A1594
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
One proposed U.S. test blanket module (TBM) for ITER uses ferritic-martensitic alloys with both eutectic Pb-Li and He coolants at ~475°C. In order for this blanket concept to operate at higher temperatures (~750°C) for a DEMO-type reactor, several Pb-Li compatibility issues need to be addressed. A SiC/SiC composite flow channel insert is proposed to reduce the steel dissolution rate (and the magnetohydrodynamic pressure drop). Prior capsule testing examined dense, high-purity SiC in Pb-Li at 800°-1200°C and found detectable levels of Si in the Pb-Li after 2,000h at 1100°C and 1,000h at 1200°C. Current capsule experiments are examining several different SiC/SiC composite materials at 1000°C. Another issue involves Pb-Li transport between the first wall and heat exchanger. Aluminide coatings on type 316 stainless steel and Al-containing alloys capable of forming an external alumina scale have been studied in capsule experiments at 700° and 800°C for 1,000h. Model aluminide coatings made by chemical vapor deposition reduced the dissolution rate for 316SS at 800°C by a factor of 50.